SMASH 2016 Recap – Madman Panel, Anime Cars and More

The Sydney Manga and Anime SHow, better known as SMASH was on for 2016 in its 10th year. I had plenty of fun, attending the convention for the third year in a row.

I arrived at SMASH in Rosehill Gardens on Sunday the 21st of August, that day chosen since I felt too many people would be around on Saturday. Also contributing to this choice was Madman’s industry panel being on the same day. Since I wanted to be there for any possible news I could report on.

Madman’s Industry Panel

The journey there wasn’t a hassle as I was drove there, rather than taking a bus or train. I wish I came earlier though since I ended up running to reach the Mini Stage where Madman were holding their panel. Which was hosted by Jess McCallum (Head of Social Media & Brand Engagement) and Sylvester ‘Sly’ Ip (Product Manager & Content Producer). Managing to arrive there in time for the Q&A where it’s safe to say that there were no big announcements I missed beforehand.

The Q&A was fun, filled with the usual questions about release dates for certain shows or why there isn’t more Blu-rays. There were funny parts like Sly holding up his glowstick when an audience member asked who to thank for livestreaming μ’s Final Love Live in cinemas.

The final question went to me as I asked Jess on the subject of movies coming to AnimeLab. The answer being that they’re looking into it but wont anytime happening soon. Though the true reason I asked that question was because some Twitter friends wanted me to yell ‘Team Ram’ and ‘Rem Sucks’ at Jess. Joking about the Best Girl Wars people were having over the show Re:Zero. Jess had a good laugh and relied ‘Team Rem’ which I unfortunatelymisheard.

The panel ended shortly afterwards as I met up with my friend Cloud and we walked around for a bit. Ending up at Madman’s booth as we checked out at all the DVDs, Blu-rays and manga on sale. Even having a talk with Jess about currently airing anime and cosplayers she’s been taking photos of for AnimeLab’s Facebook page.

Exploring the SMASH-ing Convention

I ended up on my own as Cloud left to see some panels and I took the opportunity to film videos and take pictures. After awhile, I managed to walk almost everywhere as I checked areas like the artists alley & the AnimeLab theatre.

The Japanese Film Festival also had their own booth. Advertising their slate of movies for this year while featuring an mini-exhibition dedicated to the live action Bakuman movie they screened last year.

The exhibition featured various props of manga and drawings that were used in the film, including a replica Tezuka Award.

The cars with anime decals that were towards the back of the gardens were especially impressive. The Evangelion one featuring Asuka in particular:

It was a fun day, even if not much honestly happened in the end. No big announcements from Madman and neither Hanabee or Siren Visual had much to show for themselves either. It was a fine day meeting people and enjoying what SMASH had to offer. Which makes me especially excited to be flying to Melbourne in September for the Madman Anime Festival.

Finally, here’s a video of my experiences with all the photos you’ve seen here and plenty more: